Surveying system

ABSTRACT

A surveying system having a total station integrated into an unmanned ground vehicle communicates with a plurality of mobile communication stations that are located on known site coordinates. By locating the mobile communication stations on known coordinates, the location of the ground vehicle is precisely triangulated and controlled. Construction drawings are loaded into the system, thereby allowing the vehicle to locate itself at specific points designated in the drawings for the marking of on-site construction grid lines.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/660,672 filed on Mar. 17, 2015, which relates to and claims thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/954,148 filed Mar. 19,2014 and entitled “SURVEYING SYSTEM,” the disclosure of which is whollyincorporated by reference in its entirety herein.

STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a surveying system. In particular, theinvention relates to a surveying system having an unmanned aerialvehicle capable of establishing construction gridlines at theconstruction site from the construction drawings.

2. Related Art

Surveying is the technique of accurately determining thethree-dimensional position of points and the distances and anglesbetween them, utilizing in part geometry and trigonometry. In surveying,various kinds of surveying instruments, such as theodolites or totalstations, are commonly used for measuring distances and/or angles ofobjects. Conventionally, these surveying instruments are mounted on astand to stably position the surveying instrument on the ground and havea head that may be moved with respected to the stand. The head generallyincludes an optical device, such as a ranging or sighting device forfocusing on an object.

Typically, construction drawings are made up of a site layout plan and afloor plan, which will contain gridlines for the desired dimensions ofthe construction. In order to establish the gridlines at theconstruction site, a surveying team will take a government land surveyplan featuring true coordinate control points, will establish controlpoints at the construction site, and will then proceed to set out thegridlines at the construction site. This is typically achieved by onesurveyor manning a total station at a known given point and at least oneadditional surveyor manning a target and physically moving the targetinto sight of the total station at set locations to establish thegridlines. This method, however, can be cumbersome in that it requires ateam of skilled surveyors to man the total station and the targets tophysically mark the control lines.

Improvements to this method are known in the art, for example, totalstations now allow for the construction drawings to be loaded directlyinto the total station, thereby having the points and elevationscontained within the system to speed up and simplify the process oftargeting the specific points. However, even with this improvement ateam of surveyors is still needed to man the total station and tophysically move the target around the construction site.

Further improvements known in the art include remotely controlled totalstations, wherein a single surveyor may remotely operate the totalstation while moving the target from location to location and viewingthe sight of the total station via a remote viewing device. However,this still requires a skilled surveyor to operate the total station andmove the target from point to point.

As such, there is a need for an improved surveying system that allowsfor the establishment of site construction gridlines in an easy mannerwithout the need for a team of skilled surveyors.

BRIEF SUMMARY

One embodiment of the present disclosure is a surveying system having atotal station integrated into an unmanned aerial vehicle thatcommunicates with a plurality of mobile communication stations that arelocated on known site coordinates. By locating the mobile communicationstations on known coordinates, the location of the aerial vehicle can beprecisely triangulated and controlled. Further, construction drawingsmay be loaded into the system, thereby allowing the vehicle to locateitself at specific points designated in the drawings for the marking ofon-site construction grid lines.

In particular, the unmanned aerial vehicle may be a multi-rotatoraircraft. Preferably, the aircraft may be a quadcopter. The vehicle mayhave total station components integrated into its design. For example,the vehicle may include a camera, a laser marker, and/or a sonarcomponent. Additionally, the vehicle will have an antenna and controllercomponents for interacting with the communication stations and formoving from location to location at the site.

The mobile communication stations may communicate with each other and/orthe vehicle via known methods in the art, such as infrared or radiofrequency. The communication stations may further include GPS units toallow for precise location data at the installation site. Alternatively,the communication stations may be placed at known coordinates.

The survey system may further include a controlling unit. Thecontrolling unit may be a dedicated device, or it may be softwareinstalled on a conventional tablet or other mobile computing device. Thecontrolling unit allows for a user of the system to control the locationof the vehicle and/or to see the data/video image being captured by thevehicle.

The survey system may further include a charging station. The vehicleunit is capable of docking with the charging station to rechargebatteries contained within the vehicle for powering the vehicle and thesurvey devices contained within the vehicle. Additionally, the vehicleunit may monitor its own battery charge and distance from the chargingstation. As such, the vehicle unit may return itself to the chargingstation when the battery charge reaches a predetermined limit, so as tonot cause damage to the vehicle unit or retrieval issues, should thevehicle run out of battery life at an inopportune time.

By loading the construction drawings into the system and triangulatingthe location of the vehicle unit in relation to the communicationstations, the vehicle unit may locate itself at predetermined positionsper the construction drawings to allow for the establishment ofconstruction gridlines on site. In particular, a laser marker of thevehicle may mark specific coordinates and elevations, which can then bemarked on site by users of the system. Another aspect of the system isthat via the use of a sonar device (or other imaging components,including but not limited to a camera), the system may be used to mapthe surface of objects to create a 3D image of the site. This aspect canbe particularly useful for conducting as-built surveys after thecompletion of the construction project.

Another embodiment of the surveying system includes a ground vehicleunit. The ground vehicle unit may be in communication with thecommunication stations and/or the aerial vehicle. In particular, theaerial vehicle and ground vehicle unit may be configured such that theaerial vehicle dock on the top of the ground vehicle unit. The groundvehicle unit may include a wheel system and/or a track system to allowthe ground vehicle to move to specific coordinates. The ground vehicleunit may further include various marking means to mark XYZ coordinatesat specific locations. The ground vehicle unit may have variouscomponents to both read whether the unit is level and/or plumb and toadjust the unit to a level and/or plumb position before marking XYZcoordinates.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the various embodimentsdisclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the followingdescription and drawings, in which like numbers refer to like partsthroughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the various components of a surveyingsystem in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the components of an aerial vehicle unit ofthe surveying system;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a combined ground and aerial vehicleunit of one embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the components of a ground vehicle unit ofthe surveying system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below is intended as a description ofthe presently preferred embodiment of the invention, and is not intendedto represent the only form in which the present invention may beconstructed or utilized. The description sets forth the functions andsequences of steps for constructing and operating the invention. It isto be understood, however, that the same or equivalent functions andsequences may be accomplished by different embodiments and that they arealso intended to be encompassed within the scope of the invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, a surveying system 10 of the present disclosureincludes a vehicle unit 12, a plurality of mobile communication stations14, and a controller unit 16. In order to utilize the surveying system10, a plurality of the mobile communication stations 14 are located on asurvey site 15 at specific coordinates 18. More particularly, there is afirst mobile communication station 14 a positioned at a first location18 a, a second mobile communication station 18 b positioned at a secondlocation 18 b distant from the first location 18 a, and a third mobilecommunication station 18 c positioned at a third location 18 c distantfrom both the first location 18 a and the second location 18 b. Thecommunication station locations 18 may be identified by previously knownlandmarks or coordinates, via conventional surveying methods, or via theuse of GPS coordinates. In particular, the mobile communication stations14 may each have onboard GPS devices to allow for their precise locationdetermination that can then be relayed to the other modules of thesurveying system 10. The mobile communication stations 14 are configuredto communicate with (and transmit/receive data to and from) each other,the vehicle unit 12, and the controller unit 16 over a wireless network20. This communication may be achieved by conventional wirelesscommunications modalities such as infrared or radio frequency, and eachof the components that participate in the wireless network 20 areunderstood to incorporate appropriate electronic components therefor,including transceivers, modulators/demodulators, antennas, and so forth.

The vehicle unit 12 may take the form of a quadcopter unmanned aerialvehicle. The use of a quadcopter allows for easy control of the vehicle,and excellent stability when in location for marking. Quadcopters mayallow for stability and precise location within ⅛″ in any direction. Thevehicle unit 12 includes various control components to allow for precisemovement and hovering abilities around the survey site 15. Withreference to the block diagram of FIG. 2, an exemplary implementation ofthe vehicle unit 12 may include a flight controller 22 that is a generalpurpose microcontroller with a data processor that can executepre-programmed instructions, memory to store those instructions andother data, and multiple input/output ports. The quadcopter, assuggested by its namesake, is understood to utilize four propellers thatprovide lift and movement along six degree of freedom. Each of thepropellers is rotated by a separate motor 24 a-d, and depending on howeach of these motors 24 is driven in combination, the body of thevehicle unit 12 may be moved in different ways. The specific rotationspeeds of the individual motors 24 may be governed by a motor controlcircuit 26 that outputs different electrical voltage levels to the motor24 for different speeds.

More generalized control outputs are generated from the flightcontroller 22 to the motor control circuit 26. The degree of abstractionfrom the motor control circuit 26 to the flight controller 22 may varydepending on the implementation, but at the very least, electricalcircuits generating the higher current and voltages required to drivethe motors 24 are understood to be isolated from the flight controller22. Continuously, and on a real-time basis, the flight controller 22generates outputs to the motor control circuit 24 to regulate the flightof the vehicle unit 12. In order to maintain a steady state flight, theflight controller 22 responds to multiple environmental conditions. Theinformation utilized for such responses is generated by differentsensors, including an accelerometer 28, a gyroscope 30, and a barometer32, among others, which are all connected to the flight controller 22.The accelerometer 28 and the gyroscope 30 are understood to haveindividual sensors for each of x, y, and z axes, though a compositeoutput that combines data for all three axes may be generated. Inaddition to the aforementioned sensors that are utilized to computeflight dynamics, the specific location of the vehicle unit 12 may bedetected with a Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite receiver 34,which is also connected to the flight controller 22.

A user may direct, or the vehicle unit 12 may be autonomously directedto various locations within the survey site 15. Where a user directs thenavigation of the vehicle unit 12, it may be done so via the controllerunit 16. In one embodiment, the controller unit 16 is a dedicated devicefor controlling and interacting with the other components of thesurveying system 10. Alternatively, it may be a software applicationthat is installed on a conventional mobile computing device, such as atablet computer.

Vehicle guidance may be provided via a flight command module 36 thatoutputs commands or instructions to the flight controller 22 (such asrotate left, pitch up, increase altitude, and so forth). The flightcommand module 36 may be connected to a transceiver circuit 38 thatreceives a control signal generated by the controller unit 16 or othersignal source, and converts the same to the commands or instructionsthat are executed by the flight controller 22. It will be appreciated bythose having ordinary skill in the art that feedback data provided fromthe various sensors (accelerometer 28, gyroscope 30, barometer 32) areused to regulate flight dynamics, and hence the output to the motorcontrol circuit 26.

All of the electronic components in the vehicle unit 12 may be poweredby a single on-board battery 40. There may additionally be a powerregulator circuit 42 that stabilizes the output voltage level to each ofthe components.

The vehicle unit 12 is understood to include different surveyingcomponents, and remote control thereof from the controller unit 16 iscontemplated. In one embodiment, a surveying total station 44, that is,an electronic theodolite including a distance meter, may beincorporated, though less than all of the parts of the total station maybe utilized. Furthermore, as will be described more fully below, theremay also be a marker 48, which can be a laser, sonar, or any otherdesired modality. Control of the surveying total station 44 and themarker 48 is achieved with a surveying controller 46 that may beindependent of the flight controller 22, though remote datatransmissions may be received from the same transceiver circuit 38. Insome embodiments, the functionality (including data transmission) of thesurveying components may be independent of the flight control systems.The surveying controller 46 is understood to parse the varioustheodolite trunnion and vertical axis movement commands input by theuser from the controller unit 16 other source, package the recordedvideo/image data for transmission to the controller unit 16, andinitiate the output from the marker 48 likewise based on receivedcommands therefor.

By locating the mobile communication stations 14 on known coordinates,the location of the vehicle unit 12 can be precisely triangulated.Additionally, construction drawings or site maps may be loaded into thesurveying system 10. The surveying system 10 disclosed herein isenvisioned as being compatible with and accepting plans or drawingsproduced by conventional architectural or planning programs. As such,there is access to coordinates necessary for construction. The vehicleunit 12 may then travel to the designated construction coordinates andmark the locations with the marker 48 or laser. This allows for users ofthe surveying system 10 to then physically locate and/or mark theselocations on the site to create construction control lines and/orelevations.

Another embodiment of the surveying system 10 involves the mapping ofsurfaces of objects at the survey site 15, utilizing components on boardthe vehicle unit 12. In one variation, this may be a sonar rangingdevice, though in others, a video camera 50 may be utilized. The videocamera 50 may be connected to a video feed module 52 that encodes andthe raw video data for transmission to the controller unit 16. Thewireless data transfer to the controller unit 16 may utilize theexisting transceiver circuit 38 that may be used for flight commands,but a separate independent modality may be substituted without departingfrom the scope of the present disclosure.

By traversing the site while recording information, the vehicle unit 12can capture a three-dimensional representation of the survey site 15 forsubsequent review and analysis. This can be useful for collecting rawdata and for conducting as built surveys at the completion ofconstruction. In particular, by precisely knowing the location of thevehicle unit 12 at all times, as built-surveys conducted using thepresent system allow not just for producing the three-dimensionalrepresentation but also for tying particular 3D images to specificlocations. Accordingly, the time-consuming task of producing thethree-dimensional representation separate from verifying themeasurements and locations via a coordinate grid system. Like themapping data that can be loaded into the surveying system 10 fordirecting the vehicle unit 12 to particular locations as designatedthereby, the output three-dimensional representation is understood to becompatible with conventional architectural or planning softwareapplications.

The controller unit 16 allows for manual control of the vehicle unit 12(when needed), entry of coordinates, viewing of imported coordinates,viewing of data received from the vehicle unit 12, including a videofeed from any mounted camera device 50. Along those lines, control ofthe vehicle unit 12 may be achieved through various control modalities,for example, touch screen interactions, physical movements of thecontroller unit, and/or physical movements of a controller accessory incommunication with the controller unit (such as a control wand).

As indicated above, the vehicle unit 12 may be powered by the on-boardbattery 40 or other energy sources known within the field. The depletedbattery may be removable, and swapped for charged batteries as needed ormay be configured within the vehicle for recharging in an installedconfiguration. The surveying system 10 may further include a chargingstation that the vehicle unit 12 may dock with to recharge batterieslocated within the vehicle unit 12. In one embodiment, the vehicle unit12 may have a battery charge monitor 54 that senses the current state ofbattery charge. This information, combined with the location distancefrom the charging station. In this embodiment, when the battery chargemonitor 54 determines the battery charge levels have reached apredetermined limit based on the distance of the vehicle from thecharging station, the vehicle will be self-guided to the chargingstation to recharge the batteries. By utilizing this aspect, damage tothe vehicle can be prevented from running out of charge while thevehicle is in a hovering position. Additionally, the self-returningaspect eliminates the need for a user to recover the vehicle unit 12from a potentially distant location.

With reference to the diagram of FIG. 3, another embodiment of thevehicle unit 12 includes a ground vehicle unit 56. This ground vehicleunit 56 may either replace the aerial vehicle unit 12 described above,or may work cooperatively with the aerial vehicle unit 12. Inparticular, the ground vehicle unit 56 may be configured such that theaerial vehicle unit 12 can dock with a top portion 58 of the groundvehicle unit 56 for transportation and/or charging purposes.

In further detail, the ground vehicle unit 56 includes an enclosure 60within which the various components thereof, to be described in furtherdetail below, are housed. The enclosure 60 is movable and rides on apair of continuous tracks 62 a and 62 b each driven by a pair of opposedwheels 64. Alternative embodiments contemplate a strictly wheel-basedconfiguration. The ground vehicle units 56 may allow for theinterchangeability of wheels and track systems depending on the needs ofany given location.

Referring to the block diagram of FIG. 4, the ground vehicle unit 56 mayinclude the same components discussed above in relation to the aerialvehicle unit 12. In this regard, there may be a central motioncontroller 66 that governs the movement of the ground vehicle unit 56.This allows for precise movement and location marking abilities aroundthe survey site 15. As noted, the tracks 62 are driven by the rotatingwheels 64, which may in turn be driven individually by motors 68 a-68 d.Again, the motors 68 are operated with a motor control circuit 70 that,in one embodiment, adjusts the voltage levels of the electrical signalapplied to the electrical terminals of the motors 68 to initiatemovement. Although brushless DC motors were utilized in the aerialvehicle unit 12, due to the substantially reduced rotation requirementsand the simultaneous requirements for greater precision, stepper motorsmay be substituted without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure. In such case, the motor control circuit 70 is understood togenerate signals corresponding to each fractional rotation step of itsrotor.

The ground vehicle unit 56 may include various communication componentsincluding a transceiver 72 to communicate with the mobile communicationstations 14, the controller unit 16, and/or the aerial vehicle unit 12.The transceiver 72 is understood to receive commands at varyingabstraction levels. At its most general level, these commands mayinclude general positioning type instructions where particularcoordinates within the survey site 15 are specified, and the groundvehicle unit 56 determines how, exactly, to get to that location,including the avoidance of any obstacles. On a more specific level,movement type instructions can be specified where the ground vehicleunit 56 is directed to turn left, or right, move forward or backwardsfor a predetermined duration. Furthermore, continuous manual remotecontrol commands that are immediately responsive to user input on thecontroller unit 16 are also possible. The signals corresponding to thesecommands may be received via the transceiver 72 and parsed by a motioncommand module 74. In some cases, the motion command module 74 isintegral with the central motion controller 66.

For precise location and marking features, the ground vehicle unit 56may include leveling and plumbing sensors 76 to determine whether theground unit is level or plumb at any given time. Further stability tothe ground vehicle unit 56 may be imparted with the application of ascrew gun 78 or a nail gun 80, which secures the enclosure 60 to adesired service. The leveling and plumbing sensors 76 may work inconjunction with the GPS satellite receiver 34. The ground vehicle unit56 may include surveying components, and may include the integration ofa surveying total station 44 or parts of a total station. The lasermarker 48 and/or a sonar module may also be included. The surveyingtotal station 44 and the laser marker 48 may be operated with thesurveying controller 46, which may be separate and independent of themovement-related components. It is envisioned that the control software,and ability to import construction plans may be shared by both theaerial and ground vehicles.

The ground vehicle unit 56 may further include at least one markingmodule 82 for marking precise XYZ coordinates. These marking modules mayinclude, but are not limited to a paint roller, an adjustable stampingapparatus, a spray paint device, a felt pen ink device, a labelingdevice, and/or a punch device. In particular, the labeling device mayfurther include a label storing station to hold a supply of labels andsupply them to the labeling device. The ground vehicle unit 56 mayinclude one or a plurality of these marking components. In oneembodiment, there is a single marking orifice within the ground vehicleunit 56 and the plurality of marking components are configured on atrack system to move the desired marking module 82 over the markingorifice. Alternatively, there could be a marking orifice located undereach marking module 82, wherein each marking module 82 remains in astationary configuration.

It is envisioned that when the ground vehicle unit 56 is located at theprecise XYZ coordinate to be marked, the leveling and plumbing sensors76 determine whether the unit is level and/or plumb. The ground vehicleunit 56 may include adjustable axles 84 connecting the wheels or tracksystems. If it is determined that the ground unit is not level or plumb,the ground vehicle unit 56 may adjust the axles 84 in such a fashion asto make the ground unit level and plumb before marking the location.

It is envisioned that the ground vehicle unit 56 may be useful inmarking precise locations in both the horizontal and vertical aspects ofconstruction. For example, the ground unit may be useful in marking thelocation of rebar installation locations in the ground for layingconcrete foundations. Additionally, or alternatively, the ground vehicleunit 56 may be useful in marking locations on the frames or walls ofconstruction projects, for example, to mark the location for theinstallation of plumbing and HVAC hangers and supports.

The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation.Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devisevariations that are within the scope and spirit of the inventiondisclosed herein, including various configurations of the vehicle unit,number of communication stations located on site, methods ofcommunicating between components of the system, and various forms takenby the controller unit. Further, while the disclosure focuses on landsurveying techniques, it is to be understood that the system can beutilized to establish geometrical layouts in any field or industry thathas a need for its geometrical establishing capabilities. Further, thevarious features of the embodiments disclosed herein can be used alone,or in varying combinations with each other and are not intended to belimited to the specific combination described herein. Thus, the scope ofthe claims is not to be limited by the illustrated embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. A surveying system, comprising: a ground vehiclemaneuverable within a surveying site; a plurality of ground-based mobilecommunication stations positioned at different locations in thesurveying site, each of the plurality of ground-based mobilecommunication stations being associated with a set of predefinedcoordinates corresponding to the location at which it is positioned; afirst wireless transceiver onboard the ground vehicle and incommunication with each of the plurality of ground-based mobilecommunication stations, a location of the ground vehicle within thesurveying site being determined based upon a triangulation thereof bythe plurality of ground-based mobile communication stations from the setof predefined coordinates associated therewith; a surveying totalstation onboard the ground vehicle; and a navigation unit onboard theground vehicle, the navigation unit being loaded with a representationof the surveying site and including one or more points of interestthereon, the navigation unit maneuvering the ground vehicle to aselected one of the one or more points of interest.
 2. The surveyingsystem of claim 1, further comprising: a controlling unit including asecond wireless transceiver in communication with the first wirelesstransceiver onboard the ground vehicle; wherein the controlling unit isreceptive to navigational control inputs to the ground vehicle.
 3. Thesurveying system of claim 2, further comprising: an image capturingdevice on board the ground vehicle; wherein the controlling unit isreceptive to image data generated by the image capturing device.
 4. Thesurveying system of claim 3, wherein the controlling unit includes adisplay device on which the image data is displayed.
 5. The surveyingsystem of claim 1, further comprising: a survey site capturing moduleonboard the ground vehicle that is receptive of a set of coordinates ofa particular location in the surveying site.
 6. The surveying system ofclaim 1, further comprising: a laser marker onboard the ground vehicleactivatable at the one or more points of interest of the surveying siteupon the ground vehicle being navigated thereto.
 7. The surveying systemof claim 1, further comprising: a power charging station, the groundvehicle being dockable thereto.
 8. The surveying system of claim 7,wherein the ground vehicle includes a power level monitor, the groundvehicle being navigated to the power charging station without userintervention upon a power level of an onboard battery being depletedpast a predetermined level.
 9. The surveying system of claim 1, whereinthe ground vehicle includes a level and plumb sensor.
 10. The surveyingsystem of claim 1, wherein the ground vehicle has continuous track-basedvehicle propulsion.
 11. The surveying system of claim 1, wherein theground vehicle has wheel-based vehicle propulsion.
 12. The surveyingsystem of claim 1, wherein one or more of the ground-based mobilecommunication stations includes a Global Positioning System receiverthat generates the set of coordinates of the particular location in thesurveying site on which the ground-based mobile communication station ispositioned.